🔢 Adding and Subtracting Two-Digit Numbers
Level up to two-digit math: add and subtract tens in your head, combine three small numbers by spotting pairs that make 10, and tackle sums like 34 + 27.
What you’ll learn
- Adding and Taking Away TensAdd and subtract round tens mentally, like 45 + 30 = 75 and 82 - 40 = 42.Adding or subtracting whole tens only changes the tens digit — the ones stay still. For 45 + 30, jump up by tens: 55, 65, 75. For 82 - 40, jump back: 72, 62, 52, 42. With ten-jumps you can do two-digit math in your head.
- Three Small NumbersAdd three one-digit numbers by finding a pair that makes 10 first, like 5 + 7 + 3 = 15.To add three numbers, hunt for two that make 10. In 5 + 7 + 3, the pair is 7 + 3 = 10, then 5 + 10 = 15. This works because numbers can be added in any order and the total never changes.
- Adding Two Two-Digit NumbersAdd two two-digit numbers by splitting into tens and ones, like 34 + 27 = 61.To add 34 + 27, split both numbers: tens with tens (30 + 20 = 50) and ones with ones (4 + 7 = 11). Combine: 50 + 11 = 61. When the ones make more than 9, ten of them bundle into a new ten — that is regrouping.
- Subtracting Two Two-Digit NumbersSubtract two two-digit numbers using number-line jumps, like 63 - 28 = 35, and check by adding.For 63 - 28, jump back in pieces: back 20 lands on 43, then back 8 lands on 35. Always check by adding the answer back: 35 + 28 = 63. Choosing the right trick — ten-jumps or splitting — makes you a two-digit champion.
Questions this course answers
82 - 40 = ?
Jump back by tens from 82: 72, 62, 52, 42.
For 5 + 7 + 3, which two numbers should you add FIRST?
7 + 3 = 10, and adding to a ten is easy: 5 + 10 = 15.
34 + 27 = ?
Tens: 30 + 20 = 50. Ones: 4 + 7 = 11. Then 50 + 11 = 61.
When you add the ones and get 11, what happens?
Ten ones bundle into one new ten, leaving 1 in the ones place.
63 - 28 = ?
Jump back 20 to reach 43, then back 8 more to reach 35.
How can you CHECK that 63 - 28 = 35?
Adding the answer back should return the starting number: 35 + 28 = 63.
Grounded in trusted sources
- Khan Academy Kids
- PBS Kids — early math
- NAEYC — early math learning
- Britannica Kids
Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.
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